Gardevoir's eyes opened to a black empty space with a guillotine in the middle of the area. An invisible crowd was booing loudly. After the initial shock of witnessing this morbid sight, she managed to position herself upright and she yelled to the darkness,
"What was Mawile like as a person?" Once she did, the area swirled around her and turned into a series of brief clips, like a film reel. A scene from Garchomp's perspective began, showing her talking to Mawile. Then Garchomp's voice called out,
"Mawile was-," Suddenly, film static noise covered the entire sky before disappearing. "-perfect," the voice finished. Gardevoir was completely stumped, this had never happened before. Quickly, she began to think back to her textbooks and realized something. No. It couldn't be. No one could be so cruel. She shook her head. Far too early it was to make such grievous assumptions. She needed more information
"Can you please explain further," she asked and more clips of the past began to play.
A pattern began to emerge as Gardevoir tried to get answers: she would ask a question about Mawile, the clip would play and a thought would begin, and static would interrupt the clip and replace the original thought. Gardevoir was growing increasingly horrified and concerned. She decided to ask,
"Can you show me the last conversation you had with Mawile." She hoped that Garchomp's memory would be unchanged.
The area swirled around her and changed to a rather nicely decorated room. It was a bedroom with two beds, a little money tree with large roots, and a side table. Mawile walked from the door in the arms of a large, green, dinosaur-like Pokémon with a blue diamond on his chest.
"Let me go, Tyranitar, I have to talk to Garchomp," Mawile requested in a sweet tone. Tyranitar obliged and let her go,
"Okay, sweetie, I'll be waiting for you outside."
Mawile smirked as Tyranitar closed the door. Her demeanor completely changed from sweet and innocent to vile in mere moments. With a cocky grin, she asked Garchomp,
"Well then, how is my informant today?" Garchomp hesitated to respond,
"There... there was someone who's getting on the right track. Might have started tailing one of your 'buddies.'" she said quietly. Mawile began to file her nails, asking,
"Is there anything else?"
"N-No."
Mawile then snapped her fingers with a sadistic grin. She sat down on the bed. The air around Garchomp became pink, with faint sparkles floating about. Garchomp seized up as she breathed in this mysterious gas. Watching all of this, Gardevoir's heart plummeted. This was fairy wind, but Mawile was forcing it into Garchomp's system. Gardevoir could do nothing but watch. A silent, helpless observer forced to watch this horrific display of callousness. Despite not being there, her connection to Garchomp's mind allowed her to imagine the pain. A searing pain that spread through her entire body, yet unable to free herself. It was comparable to being immolated.
But not a sound left Garchomp's mouth.
Mawile stopped filing her nails and crossed her legs, casually remarking,
"I know about your rosey little friend. I know that she's sticking her nose where it doesn't belong." Garchomp looked up in horror but was unable to speak. Mawile, with a grin, glared at Garchomp.
"Aww, how adorable. But you see, there's nothing you can do. My power is growing and I have fooled everyone, Tyranitar, this city, HIM. They've all played a part in my master plan, but I can't have you screw it up." Mawile gloated. Garchomp's pain finally came to an end, allowing her to protest.
"Leave…Leave her alone!" Garchomp panted, angrily looking up Mawile whilst gritting her teeth. Mawile rolled her eyes,
"No, no, no. You don't want that, do you?" Garchomp's resistance faded for a moment, before reinforcing her resolve,
"She has nothing to do with this."
Mawile turned around, showing some large black jaws on the back of her head. The jaws bared their teeth at Garchomp, violently snapping like a rabid animal. Those jaws then hissed in a monstrous voice,
"She can ruin everything! Now, tell me where she is, or I'll force it out of you!" roared Mawile. Garchomp paused. The dragon knew how merciless Mawile could be. Perhaps it would be better to tell Mawile the truth. No, Roserade didn't deserve this. No one did. Garchomp shook her head.
Mawile sighed,
"Alright, you forced my hand. But it's obvious you won't talk. I do feel like ripping away at some petals though."
The next series of events were a literal blur. Gardevoir tried to piece together what was happening from within Garchomp's mind. From what she could see, Garchomp roared, lunging at Mawile with ferocity. Her hand made impact with Mawile's neck as warm liquid sprayed onto Garchomp's face, chest and hands. Garchomp then stared at the floor, where everything became clear. A disturbing choking sound spat from in front of her. A chill ran down Gardevoir's spine as Garchomp shakily looked up. What she saw made her sick.
Mawile's throat had been stabbed. The steel type then fell back onto the floor, at the same down as the sound of something digging into the earth. However, Garchomp paid no mind to this noise. She stared at the body before seeing the blood on her hands. Her breathing intensified just as Tyranitar broke into the room. He saw his wife, the blood, and Garchomp, before erupting into an anguished cry. He rushed to his dying bride's side as the guards apprehended Garchomp. The dragon type felt both burning hot and freezing cold, her hands slowly becoming numb. She was having a panic attack.
Gardevoir had seen enough. She opened her eyes and paused. That image of Mawile dying on the floor, helplessly bleeding out on the floor nearly sent Gardevoir into that same spiral of terror. Who wouldn't be? It was one of the most horrific sights anyone could ever see; it would etch itself into your very core, permanently attaching itself into your conscience as a permanent reminder of how cruel life could be. But something was off. What was that noise?
Once she returned to the normaal world. Gardevoir shook her head cleared and asked Roserade,
"What is Mawile talking about with this HIM?'"
"I don't know, but Mawile's got some shady dealings in this town. That's why I think Garchomp didn't do it. Why did you ask?"
"This is so much worse than I thought. Her thoughts were changing to speak highly of Mawile, then I found the last conversation she had with Garchomp and it all made sense."
"W-What are you saying?"
"She has been tortured into subservience by Mawile," Gardevoir revealed somberly.
Roserades hands covered my mouth in shock as she began to shake. She collapsed onto the ground as tears stained the ground.
"Roserade, what's wrong," Gardevoir asked as she floated off the pedestal and ran to the grass type.
"M-my best friend was suffering and I didn't notice," she sobbed uncontrollably onto the floor. "I promised to have her back and I failed. I thought she just worked there." Gardevoir wrapped her arms around Roserade to comfort her. Gently telling her that
"It's okay, you didn't know." After a while, Roserade finally regained her composure and stood up,
"I have a plan to save her, but we need to do it quickly, her execution is in two days."
"Wait, wait, two days?! Why have you waited so long?"
"It wasn't that long, she was tried and convicted yesterday. Tyranitar was furious and the trial was lightning quick. She didn't even get an attorney"
"WHAT?! That's not fair! I'll get help."
"NO! The more people are involved, the more dangerous it is."
"What do you mean?" Gardevoir asked.
"Think about it, they have guards all over the place. If a bunch of people enter the castle then they would be suspicious." Gardevoir tried to argue but she knew that Roserade was right.
"I'll only bring one person."
"But-"
"Trust me, he is the best option." Gardevoir insisted. Roserade was reluctant but, giving that Gardevoir had been helping so far, she decided to trust her. But now Roserade had a crime scene to break into.
A Quagsire in a butler's uniform knocked on a door before opening it,
"Master Tyranitar, the procession will be underway soon, I suggest you finish your preparations." Tyranitar was staring from a balcony and sighed,
"Okay, tell them I'll be there soon." The butler hesitated before leaving. Tyranitar stares into the clouds before a single tear left his eyes.
"I'll miss you, Mawile. I love you and," his fist clenched, "I promise that Garchomp will pay for her sins!"
How could that have happened? Mawile, his beloved wife, had been murdered right under his nose. His hatred for Garchomp grew and festered every day. Mawile had hired her graciously for a legal internship. Garchomp's mother was somewhere in Europe handling a case, so Mawile, in her kindness, had attempted to get her daughter to see if she shared the same talent as her mother. He was incredibly grateful that Garchomp's mother wouldn't have to see her daughter for the murderer she was. Per European law, once you are assigned to a case, you cannot leave the country until it is solved. Regardless, he had to hurry this up. Dragon type Pokemon are exceptionally powerful. That was why he rushed the trial. The longer she was alive, she could hurt others. As he thought about it, he left the room.
Just as Tyranitar closed the door behind him, a vine snaked its way under the door and unlocked it. Roserade, in a maid's disguise, pushed the door open and saw that the room was empty. She was naturally surprised to see that the room was already cleared out from the investigation, just another sign of just how rushed this was. Hopefully, this would mean that the police had forgotten something. If only the autopsy was finished.
Roserade began to frantically look around the room. She searched under the beds and through the drawers but found nothing. The closest thing to something she found was a knife, some cloth, bleach wipes, and a strange document. Roserade looked at it and saw that it had a document, containing a record of a warehouse being leased out in Tetrador in Mawile's name. The co-beneficiary was someone by the name of Vida. It was a curious read but Roserade failed to see the connection to the case. However, the company that owned the place stunned her.
"For use as storage by Kinnoyamma LLC."
The Kinnoyamma casino? Why would Mawile lease out a property to the Kinnoyamma casino? And why Tetrador? Tetrador was a backwater town that struggled for years, why would any company invest in that? Then again, Tetrador was obscure enough for someone to perhaps perform an illegal activity. Maybe this Vida character was Mawile's boss or co-worker and they were working for some sort of gang, and Mawile had screwed Vida in some way.
Roserades focus then returned to saving her friend, although she did take the paper. Her search into the room was growing increasingly desperate. She even considered ripping up the carpet, but that would produce too much noise and she would be caught. There had to be something. The investigation barely lasted a day before the trial, there was no way the police had everything….what if?
Roserade shook her head clear. No, no Garchomp didn't do it. It was impossible. Garchomp wouldn't hurt a fly, right? Doubt began to swirl within her head. Garchomp had a motive, she was manipulated and tortured by Mawile. And, and it would make sense to prevent Mawile from making any noise.
Her eyes drifted to the money tree. That was when an idea popped into her head. It made no sense. How could they do it without anyone noticing? Surely, the police looked there. But it was a possibility. Perhaps someone had, somehow, buried the weapon inside the plant. A ground type could do it, moving the dirt. Expecting nothing from this, she began to dig through the dirt, feeling disgusting when she did so, especially when she began to touch this weirdly warm wet feeling close to the roots-wait what?
Roserade then pulled out her hands to see that it was covered in a reddish-brown liquid. Blood. Confusion raced through her. How? How does a plant- she stopped. She was a grass type and could control that plant. That meant that whoever did this had to be grass-type, or at least proficient in grass-type attacks. Roserade's eyes widened once she realized that she had her smoking gun, now she just needed to get Garchomp out of the line of fire.